LENTIL AND FREEKAH SALAD WITH APRICOTS FETA AND RED CABBAGE

This is sort of the third salad I’ve posted this week… whoops! This was clearly not well planned, but it’s all I feel like eating at the moment. This one is super filling due to the lentils and freekah and can easily become a stand alone meal with the addition of some grilled chicken or a soft boiled egg. Perfection.

It’s also got great colour and makes for a fantastic side salad at a bbq or picnic. The flavours are nutty, sharp and sweet all at one thanks to the variety of vegetables, legumes, fruit and nuts that it’s filled with.

Lightly pickling cabbage is basically my favourite thing to do with it. It adds a sharpness to it, gets rid of that strong raw cabbage taste while keeping the colours nice and bright and the texture crunchy and fresh. You can leave the cabbage up to a day but I think it’s fine after the first 20 minutes. I’m impatient though, it’s a problem.

This is the sort of salad you can dress and leave for a few hours and it actually improves in flavour rather than becoming limp and icky. Making it ideal for work lunches. This recipe makes heaps so you can easily make it for Sunday night dinner as a side with a roast or BBQ and then eat the leftovers for lunch that week. If you change up the protein you’re having it with it can feel like a different meal. it’s also great in a wrap or pita pocket with a drizzle of herby yoghurt sauce and some meatballs (click the meatballs link for the yoghurt sauce recipe too). Sold? You should be.

Plus, look how easy that recipe is! You can buy cooked lentils or cook them yourself.

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 tsp white wine vinegar

¼ tsp salt

2 cups French (puy) lentils, cooked

2 cups freekah, cooked

¼ cup sunflower seeds

¼ cup pumpkin seeds

¼ cup roasted almonds

½ cup spring onion, finely sliced

½ cup flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped

½ cup mint, roughly shopped

6 dried apricots, finely chopped

¼ red cabbage, finely sliced

100g feta (feel free to use more!)

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

2 Tbs olive oil

Optional: 6 soft boiled eggs (gently lower eggs into boiling water, turn down to a simmer and cook for 6.5 minutes. Cool in iced water and peel.

Directions

Toss the shredded cabbage with the vinegar and salt and set aside for 5-30 minutes.

Combine the lentils, freekah, seeds, almonds, onion, parsley, mint, lemon zest and apricots in a bowl, drizzle over the olive oil and lemon juice and mix well. Check seasoning and adjust to suit your tastes, but remember you’ll be adding salty feta at the end.

Fill a large salad bowl with the cabbage then top with the lentils and freekah mix. Sprinkle salad with the feta. If using the eggs I would usually serve these on the side or dotted over the top.

Optional, reserve 1 Tbs of the herbs to sprinkle over the top, this is just to make it look pretty you don’t have to and it won’t change the overall flavour!